Toyota Motor Corp. on November 9, 2011 announced its decision to recall around 5,50,000 vehicles across the world for problems that could make it harder to steer.
As a part of the recall, 4,47,000 vehicles in North America will be recalled, apart from the United States, the company will also recall 38,000 vehicles in Japan and 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, 14,000 vehicles in Europe, around 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan, stated Toyota spokesperson Mr. Dion Corbett. According to Corbett although there has been no injury or death resulting from the defect, the company has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007.
The company is recalling its vehicles as there is a possibility that the outer ring of the engine’s crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning light to illuminate. If the problem remains uncorrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley and it might be difficult for the driver to turn the steering.
Japan’s largest automaker has for the past few years been recalling its vehicles for defects and had last year recalled millions of vehicles for acceleration problems.
